Governor of Queensland
Governor of Queensland | |
---|---|
Badge of the Governor | |
Viceroy | |
Style | His Excellency |
Residence | Government House, Brisbane |
Appointer | Elizabeth II |
Term length | At Her Majesty's pleasure |
Formation | 10 December 1859 |
First holder | Sir George Bowen |
Website | Office of the Governor |
The Governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the Queen of Australia. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor performs constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level. In particular the Governor has the power to appoint and dismiss the Premier of Queensland and all other Ministers in the Cabinet, and issue writs for the election of the state Parliament.
The current Governor, Paul de Jersey, was sworn in on 29 July 2014.[1]
As from June 2014, The Queen, upon the recommendation of then-Premier Campbell Newman, accorded all current, future and living former Governors the title 'The Honourable' in perpetuity.[2]
Official residence
The Governor of Queensland has resided at Government House, Brisbane since 1910. The mansion, set in 14 hectares of gardens and bushland in the Brisbane suburb of Bardon, is also known as "Fernberg". Unlike Fernberg, the original Government House was purpose-built and was used from 1862 to 1910; the building still exists today on the grounds of Queensland University of Technology.
Constitutional provisions
The office of Governor is established by the Constitution of Queensland. Section 29 of the Constitution as passed in 2001 provides that the office of Governor must exist and be appointed by the Sovereign, but parts of the earlier Constitution Act of 1867 relating to the Governor are still in force owing to the double entrenchment of them within the constitution by the government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who feared that the office and powers of state Governor might be abolished following the controversies of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis at a federal level.
In accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of parliamentary government, the Governor nearly always acts solely on the advice of the head of the elected government, the Premier of Queensland. Nevertheless, the Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to appoint and dismiss Ministers, issue pardons, and dissolve Parliament.
The Queensland constitution expressly provides that the Governor is not subject to direction by any person and is not limited as to the Governor's sources of advice on the appointment or dismissal of Ministers (s. 35), another provision inserted by the Bjelke-Petersen government in the wake of the 1975 federal dismissal. This provision worked against Bjelke-Petersen when, in the dying days of his government in November 1987, he tried and failed to convince Governor Sir Walter Campbell to remove several ministers to shore up his own support within Parliament. When the parliamentary wing of the National Party deposed Bjelke-Petersen and elected one of the dissident ministers, Mike Ahern, as new Leader of the National Party, Sir Joh initially refused to resign as Premier and Sir Walter resisted calls to dismiss him. Sir Joh elected to resign on 1 December 1987.
The Governor is head of the Executive Council, a Queensland equivalent to the Federal Executive Council. The Council is composed of ministers from the government of the day. The Chief Justice of Queensland and other judges in the Queensland judicial system are appointed by the Governor acting on the advice of the Executive Council.
List of Governors of Queensland
The first Australian- (and Queensland-) born Governor of Queensland was Lieutenant-General Sir John Lavarack (appointed 1946). His successor, Sir Henry Abel Smith was British. All subsequent governors have been Australian-born, except for Leneen Forde, who was born in Canada but who emigrated to Australia at an early age.
No. | Image | Governor[3][4] | From | To | Time in Office |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Rt. Hon. Sir George Bowen, GCMG | 10 December 1859 | 4 January 1868 | 8 years, 25 days | |
2 | Colonel Sir Samuel Blackall | 14 August 1868 | 2 January 1871 | 2 years, 141 days | |
3 | The Most Hon. George Phipps, 2nd Marquess of Normanby, GCB, GCMG, PC | 12 August 1871 | 12 November 1874 | 3 years, 92 days | |
4 | Sir William Cairns, KCMG | 23 January 1875 | 14 March 1877 | 2 years, 50 days | |
5 | Sir Arthur Kennedy, CB | 20 July 1877 | 2 May 1883 | 5 years, 286 days | |
6 | Sir Anthony Musgrave, KCMG | 6 November 1883 | 9 November 1888 | 5 years, 3 days | |
7 | Field Marshal Sir Henry Norman , GCB, GCMG, CIE | 1 May 1889 | 31 December 1895 | 6 years, 244 days | |
8 | The Rt. Hon. Lord Lamington, GCMG, GCIE | 9 April 1896 | 19 December 1901 | 5 years, 254 days | |
9 | Lieutenant General Sir Herbert Chermside , GCMG, CB | 24 March 1902 | 10 October 1904 | 2 years, 200 days | |
10 | The Rt. Hon. Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC | 30 November 1905 | 26 May 1909 | 3 years, 177 days | |
11 | The Rt. Hon. Sir William MacGregor, GCMG, CB | 2 December 1909 | 16 July 1914 | 4 years, 226 days | |
12 | Major Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams, GCMG, CB | 15 March 1915 | 3 February 1920 | 4 years, 325 days | |
13 | Lieutenant Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan, GCMG | 3 December 1920 | 17 September 1925 | 4 years, 288 days | |
14 | Lieutenant General Sir John Goodwin, KCB, KCMG, DSO | 13 June 1927 | 7 April 1932 | 4 years, 299 days | |
15 | The Rt. Hon. Sir Leslie Wilson, GCMG, GCSI, GCIE, DSO, PC | 13 June 1932 | 23 April 1946 | 13 years, 314 days | |
16 | Lieutenant General Sir John Lavarack, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO | 1 October 1946 | 4 December 1957 | 11 years, 64 days | |
17 | Colonel Sir Henry Abel Smith, KCMG, KCVO, DSO | 18 March 1958 | 18 March 1966 | 8 years, 0 days | |
18 | Sir Alan Mansfield, KCMG, KCVO | 21 March 1966 | 21 March 1972 | 6 years, 0 days | |
19 | Air Marshal Sir Colin Hannah, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB | 21 March 1972 | 20 March 1977 | 5 years, 213 days | |
20 | Commodore Sir James Ramsay, KCMG, KCVO, CBE, DSC | 22 April 1977 | 21 July 1985 | 8 years, 90 days | |
21 | Sir Walter Campbell, AC, QC | 22 July 1985 | 29 July 1992 | 7 years, 7 days | |
22 | Leneen Forde, AC | 29 July 1992 | 29 July 1997 | 5 years, 0 days | |
23 | Major General Peter Arnison, AC, CVO | 29 July 1997 | 29 July 2003 | 6 years, 0 days | |
24 | Quentin Bryce, AC | 29 July 2003 | 29 July 2008 | 5 years, 0 days | |
25 | Penelope Wensley, AC | 29 July 2008 | 29 July 2014 | 6 years, 0 days | |
26 | Paul de Jersey, AC, QC | 29 July 2014 | Present | 1 year, 187 days |
Living former governors
Four former governors of Queensland are alive, the oldest being Leneen Forde (1992–97, born 1935).
Name | Term as governor | Date of birth |
---|---|---|
Leneen Forde | 1992–1997 | 12 May 1935 |
Peter Arnison | 1997–2003 | 21 October 1940 |
Dame Quentin Bryce | 2003–2008 | 23 December 1942 |
Penelope Wensley | 2008–2014 | 18 October 1946 |
The most recent death of a former governor was that of Sir Walter Campbell (1985–92), on 4 September 2004.
List of Lieutenant-Governors of Queensland
The following are the lieutenant governors of Queensland:[5]
Name | Term | Notes |
---|---|---|
Arthur Hunter Palmer | 15 November 1895 — 9 April 1896 | Lieutenant Governor Administrator |
Samuel Griffith | 21 December 1901 — 24 March 1902 | Lieutenant Governor |
Hugh Muir Nelson | 10 October 1904 — 30 November 1905 | Lieutenant Governor |
Arthur Morgan | 27 May 1909 — 2 December 1909 | Lieutenant Governor |
Arthur Morgan | 16 July 1914 — 15 March 1915 | Lieutenant Governor |
William Lennon | 3 February 1920 — 3 December 1920 | Lieutenant Governor |
William Lennon | 17 September 1925 — 13 June 1927 | Lieutenant Governor |
William Lennon | 8 May 1929 — 2 June 1929 | Lieutenant Governor |
Frank Cooper | 24 April 1946 — 30 September 1946 | Lieutenant Governor |
References
- ↑ "Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey sworn in at Parliament House". ABC News. 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ↑ Queensland Government Gazette page 15
- ↑ Governors of Queensland — The Official Website of the Governor of Queensland
- ↑ History of Queensland Governors — Government of Queensland Website
- ↑ "Queensland Governors". Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Queensland. |
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